Four students injured in 2018 bus crash near George awarded $1.5M
A chartered bus in a University of Washington caravan crashed on Interstate 90 near George in 2018.
Trooper John Bryant/courtesy photo
SEATTLE (AP) — A jury has awarded four former marching band students at the University of Washington $1.5 million after they were injured in a bus crash on their way to a football competition with rival Washington State University.
Residents of the George and Quincy areas responded on the night of the collision, Thanksgiving in 2018, with a generous outpouring of care. Emergency responders, hospital staff, school district personnel and community members took care of injured students, gave them shelter at George Elementary School, and even brought them some of their own Thanksgiving foods for the UW students and staff.
Students Alexia Brown, Edith Myers-Power, Monica Mursch and Jacob Koreen sued the charter bus company MTRWestern, KOMO-TV reported April 8.
Herrmann Law Group, which represented the four students, said there was ice on the road and the bus driver failed to slow down, lost control and crashed. The bus did not have seat belts.
The marching band students were headed to the 2018 Apple Cup in Pullman when the charter bus rolled onto its side near the town of George, about 150 miles from the students’ destination. Authorities said 45 of the 56 people aboard the bus were injured.
The four students who filed the lawsuit will each receive a portion of the $1,482,200.
Brown, a saxophone player, was awarded the largest amount of $569,000. Attorneys said she was ejected from the bus during the crash and suffered multiple fractures to her spine and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Myers-Power, also a saxophone player, received surgery on her shoulder and was unable to march again. Monica Mursch, also a saxophone player, broke her clavicle and Jacob Koreen, a baritone player, suffered bruises, lacerations and PTSD.
“After this long fight for justice, we are pleased the jury agreed this was a horrible crash,” Anthony Marsh, of Hermann Law Group, told KCPQ-TV. “These four students survived an astounding tragedy. We hope anyone on the bus still fighting for justice will keep fighting until they get what is fair.”
“This was a tragic accident on all accounts, out hearts go to those who were affected by this event,” MTRWestern President Jeremy Butzlaff told The Associated Press in an email on Friday. “Then, as of now, we remain steadfast in our commitment to safety and we wish these students all the very best.”